Barclays chief executive C.S. Venkatakrishnan, better known in the industry as Venkat, has said that the allegations facing his predecessor Jes Staley are “very serious,” on a call with reporters.

Speaking following the publication of the bank’s quarterly earnings, Venkat was asked about the allegations against Staley and the former Barclays boss's ties to the convicted child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.

Staley is being sued by former employer JPMorgan for eight years of pay and to cover two lawsuits facing the private bank he ran while Epstein was a client. One is from women who accused Epstein of sexual abuse, and the other was filed by the US Virgin Islands where the disgraced financier owned a private island.

Neither lawsuit names Staley as a defendant.

While Venkat noted the seriousness of the charges, he added that he was not in a position to comment further with the allegations being adjudicated in the “right and proper place” in New York.

Venkat also defended the Barclays board's handling of Staley's departure and previous decision to support the former chief exec. In a later interview with Bloomberg, he said: "I know our board well, they are very thoughtful, deliberative people. And while I was not a member of the board, I know individually and collectively that they employ very careful and detailed processes to reach their decisions."

Staley this week accused JPMorgan of using him as a “public relations shield”, and that the allegations lacked legal or factual basis.

Last month, Barclays issued its most substantial statement on its former chief executive who resigned in November 2021 when his ties to Epstein emerged. In a statement published ahead of its AGM next month, the bank said: "The board has noted the recent allegations made in the context of proceedings involving Mr Jes Staley’s former employer, and against Mr Staley himself, in relation to events a few years prior to his joining Barclays. These allegations are serious and new.

“Barclays itself has received no material new evidence from regulators or law enforcement agencies since Mr Staley left in November 2021.”

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